The countries picked were ones that Three operated in – Austria, Denmark, Australia, Italy, Hong Kong, Sweden and Republic of Ireland.
I was able to use this service when attending an event in Dublin and confirm I had totally free roaming for calls texts and data.
However, Three have now gone and blown everyone away, just this second they’ve announced more countries to their list for free roaming including the shocker – America!
Customers will now be able to roam in the USA, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Macau in addition to the existing countries totally free by taking their deal abroad.
Allowances for calls, texts AND data can be used (no tethering though) and this also applies to mobile broadband contracts so you can take your iPad away with you and keep in touch on the move.
Here is the full press release from Three..
Three hits a home run and eliminates roaming charges in the USA.
- Three extends its ‘Feel At Home’ offering to USA, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Macau so customers can now stay on their UK price plan
- Feel at Home is now available in a total of 11 destinations abroad.
Wednesday 4 December 2013: Start spreading the news, Three has extended its unique ‘Feel At Home’ mobile roaming offering so customers can now travel to the USA and an additional three places and stay in touch with friends and family back home.
Feel At Home provides a simple and affordable way for the 5.5 million* Brits who visit the US each year[1] to use their phone or tablet as they would do in the UK without incurring international roaming charges. For instance you can call home, text friends, tweet, check-in on Foursquare, update a status on Facebook or post photos on Instagram while abroad, using your UK price plan allowance as if you were still here in the UK.
In addition to the US, ‘Feel At Home’ now also includes Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Macau, adding to the existing list of Australia, Italy, Austria, Hong Kong, Sweden and Denmark and Republic of Ireland, where it is already applicable. So whether you are planning a Christmas shopping trip to New York or a skiing holiday in Austria, you no longer need to worry about your mobile bill upon your return.
Three is the only UK operator to offer customers the same in-country mobile phone and mobile broadband rates for no additional charge as if they’re at home whilst abroad. Moving forwards it signifies a real shift in how customers are billed for mobile use when roaming in other countries.
Dave Dyson, Chief Executive at Three, said:
“Roaming charges have been a worry for people for too long. When travelling, we all want to make full use of our smartphones and tablets so we can capture our amazing experiences and stay in touch with friends and family. Our customers can now freely use maps to navigate their way around New York, share stunning sunsets taken on Malibu beach and chat away to friends at home for hours on end, getting even more value from their minutes, texts and data.”
Dyson continued:
“We want our customers to make the most of our network offering and their devices whether home or abroad. We believe this further extension to our Feel at Home offering provides further value and hopefully will continue to reduce fears around roaming.”
Feel At Home will automatically activate as soon as the plane touches down in one of the listed countries. As soon as you arrive, your phone picks up a local network and you can then chat to family, text your friends, post status updates and share holiday snaps whenever you like. Even if people go out of bundle, they will benefit from reduced roaming rates.
All customers on pay monthly, Pay-As-You-Go, SIM-only, mobile broadband and business plans have the freedom to use Feel At Home within the limits of their current Three price plan, as long as international roaming is activated. If people exceed the limits of their current price plan then they will still benefit from special roaming rates that are lower than Three’s standard roaming rates. Calls and texts to non-UK numbers will be charged at standard roaming rates. Tethering is not allowed.
